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Community home care for an aging demographic; what does it mean? The term “community home care” s bandied about as though it has a specific meaning and that we should all know what it is – but it can mean:

Aging in place: remaining in your own traditional home, supported by housekeeping and healthcare services, until you are no longer able to cope

Purpose built or adapted housing residences: for those who want to be part of a “community” of people that might be comprised only of older seniors, or a mixture of people of various ages, as in a neighbourhood, with housekeeping and healthcare services available.

Care residences: where older seniors are the main residents because they require dedicated care provided by community members, volunteers and professionals; paid for by residents or by government, non-profit or charitable organizations or a combination of these. This is where Long Term Care facilities enter the discussion.

Essentially, there are four major factors to consider in this mix: Medical, Accommodation (housing), Demographics and Funding. Here are the first two.

Medical. There are risks to the “aging in place” model. Many older seniors become trapped in the “tea and toast” syndrome wherein they do not eat properly or take care of themselves physically and mentally. Loneliness and depression and physical injuries, which may be undiscovered for hours or days, can occur.

Accommodation. Moving to a smaller home, whether purpose-built or in the broader neighbourhood can be a daunting prospect. Most people rightly dread moving, with its stress and upheaval. Sometimes, too, family members pressure their elders into staying put since the home is “the family home” and repository of happy memories (and increased, non-taxable capital gains over time.) In terms of their housing, many older seniors are house rich but cash-flow poor.

Hope and reality on a collision course? Should government direct scarce resources into caring for seniors in need at home when the logical solution is for them to sell their valuable house and downsize, and then use the surplus to pay for the help they need?

This sets context for the next blog post on demographics and funding. In brief, Boomers looking forward should consider their assets owned as well as their income streams; as their hope and reality for community home care for themselves may be on a collision course.

Of this longevity conscious age, one could say that the grand narrative related to aging demographics has more than one story line – and how these all converge and involve everyone of all ages, does require forward thinking. Building on opportunity for this age of longevity will require respect for each age cohort in society. There is a place for everyone at every stage of life.

We formed Planet Longevity as a thought leadership panel and our vision was – put the wider conversation out there; influence, enlighten and challenge assumptions around how we all will actually adapt to the experience of aging and longevity in a foreseeable future.

If you want to change the narrative on a longevity issue that you care about, and ensure your message is listened to positively – and make a call to action for support of your cause; then you put that message up front so you don’t distract.

One of the key longevity story lines is community care. Planet Longevity wants to get out in front of that conversation and support others in their efforts to create a proactive model. But frankly speaking, we don’t think framing the story around the verbiage of ageism is helpful. It’s too easy to pluck on those strings and distract from making a positive pitch.

From a marketing communications point of view, we think this distracts from what positive contributions Care Watch is able to make. Their website tagline is “Advocating Quality Home & Community Care.” After that, the home page loses it impact to positively engage whatever target audiences it may have, by currently focusing their AGM message ‘Mobilizing Against Ageism”.

Care Watch could actually benefit from dusting off its brand message. Reach out with its big ask for us to help “advocate” for its real purpose, by speaking more to a greater mass – the Boomer audience, many of whom are in care-giving mode with older parents and also have children who are the future cross-generational participants in home and community care giving.

The aging demographic curve is still in motion and will be for many years to come. Our wish for Care Watch leaders, given all the ages and stages that you have lived through, is use the constructive value of your knowledge and experience to mobilize wider support.